Cousin of Avalanche’s Nick Holden holds up sign about how the two use to bathe together (pic)

Awk—–ward. That’s about the only word that can be used to explain the above sign that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nick Holden was greeted with as his team faced the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night at Rexall Place.

Holden has only had a few short stints on NHL rosters during his young career (five games in 2010-11 and two more in 2012-13 as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets), so it is hardly surprising that this is the first time the native of St. Albert, Alberta has played in his home province.

And with that in mind, it is even less surprising that friends and family were in full force on Thursday to watch him play.

One individual Holden probably would have preferred to not show up was his cousin. Or, at the very least, he certainly wishes his cousin wouldn’t have brought along and proudly held up the embarrassing sign pictured above for everyone to see.

If the choice of neon pink for the sign is causing some spotty vision, the message reads:

“I BATHED WITH NICK HOLDEN, TAUGHT HIM EVERYTHING HE KNOWS DURING TUB TIME.”

Hoo boy, that ain’t right.

Holden was asked about the sign during an intermission interview. He said: “That’s my cousin. My mom told me she was going to have that sign up. Kinda embarrassing.”

Kinda embarrassing. That’s putting it mildly. The only thing that could have made it more embarrassing is … um …

Nope, that’s about as embarrassing as it gets. Jinkies.

What’s most amazing is that Holden was able to contribute on the ice after seeing that sign, scoring a goal in the second period.

And that’s not all: There were more signs, although none as embarrassing as the one above:

In the end, in his first game back home, Holden and his teammates were on the receiving end of an 8-2 beatdown, a game during which Oilers star Taylor Hall notched a hat trick and had a bra thrown on the ice in appreciation. I bet Holden would have preferred that response to that damn sign.